Trolley-retractor.



W0. 690,ll0. Patented flee. 3|, I901. A. J. JOHNSON.

TROLLEY BETBAGTOR.

(Application filed Oct 12, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

in v 6 711 79 11' ws f an @o'o'eJ. $.49. QQQMJ mm. 890mb. Patented Dec. 3|, mm. A. .1. JOHNSON.

TBOLLEY BETBACTOR.

(Application filed Oct. 12, 1901.]

2 Sheets-Shut 2.

(W0 iModei.)

744671 e 5:666 (9%? @jwuk [Ewen lhnrrmi STATES Parentititties.

ANDRINV J. JOHNSON, OF CLEVELANll, OlllO.

TROLLEY RETRACTQR.

SPECIFECATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 690,110, dated December 31, 1901.

Application filed October 12, 1901. Serial No. 78,397. "No model.)

Be it known that I, Axnnnw J. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Uuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement in Trolley-Retractors, of which the following a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Myinvention relates to an improved trolleyretractor.

The device in which my inventiou-is embodied maintains the trolley-cord in normal tension under the ordinary running conditions-that is to 3', so long as the trolley remains in contactwith the conductor-wire and however much the distance of said conductorwire above the track may vary. If, however, the trolley jumps from the conductor-wire, it will be thrown up suddenly by its spring, whcreu pon my device will act automatically to draw the trolley-pole downward until the trolley is below the planes of the conductor-wire and of the arms or crosswires by which said couductonwire is supported.

The invention may be here generalized as consisting of the novel combination of parts shown in the t'lrawings and hereinafter dc of. Fig is a central longitudinal sectional view. Fig. l is a sectional view in the plane indicated by line l -l of Fig. 3 looking to the left. Fig. 5 is a sectional view in the plane indicated byline 5 5 of Fig. 3 looking to the right. Fig. o is a side elevation of the rear end of a trolley-car having my retractor attached to it, and Fig. 7is a perspective view of latch K and spring R.

Referring to the parts by letters, A represents a frame by which the movable parts-0f the device are supported. It consists in the preferred form, as shown, of a plate a, which is intended to be secured in a vertical position to the outer side of the rear dashboard of the trolley-car.- It has also two parallel counterpart members (4', which when the 1 date is secured as described project rcarwardly.

13 represents a hollow casing which lies'between and is rotatably mounted in said members a. by means of hubs I), which are titted into circular holes in said members. This casing has a removable end I), which is sccured to it in any appropriate manner, as by screws. The hubs bare bored out and receive a shaft 0, which shaft after the reelspring has been wound up, as will be presently explained, is fastened to said casing. The means employed for this purpose consist of a wheel 0, fitted upon a projecting square end of said shaft and having one or more pins 0, which enter corresponding slots 11* in the end of the adjacent huh I). This wheel is held in a position to maintain the engagement of said pinsand slots byascrew 0 which screws into the end of said shaft, and a washer c, cmbracing the screw and lying between its head and said wheel. ithin the casing and rotatably mounted upon this shaft is a reel D, having the hollow cylindrical barrel (t, (to which the trolley-cord p is fastened and upon which it will be wound.) Within the barrel of this reel is a helical spring 11, one end of which is fastened to the shaft 0 andthe other end to the reel. It is obvious thatif the rotation of the casing 13 is prevented and the spring His put under tension it will automatically rot-ate the reel, and thereby take up any slack in the trolley-cord due to the lowering of the conductor-wire, but will be turned in the other (1 irection as the elevation of the conductor-wire increases by the superior force of the trolley-spring. Undernormalconditions, therefore, this drum and its spring hold the trolley-cord taut by automatically taking it up or permitting it to pay out, as occasion requires.

Extending between and mounted in the two members a is the shaft E, on which is loosely mounted the hub g of the retractor-arm G. This retractor-arm has at its upperend 'ayokc g, which embraces an arm I), and has across its open end a bar g on which a frictionroller g is mounted. This arm I) is rigidly fastened to the casing 13 and has an eye I), through which the trolley cord 1) passes loosely. Around the shaft E one or more coiled springs J are wound, one end of said springs being fastened to the hub I] and the other ends to ratchet-wheels e, which are retatably mounted on the shaft E. Pawls h,

theseratchet -wheels and preventthem from turning backward underthe influence of the under certain conditions.

to fasten it to said casing.

said springs. These springs may be tightened or wound up by turning said ratchet-wheels. The force of these. springs is exerted, therefore, upon the retractor-arm in'the direction to swing it rearward. Because'of the described connections between said retract0rarm and the casing B the former cannot be so moved Without. also moving said casing. This movement of the casing is, however, prevented by a latch-leverK, pivoted to opposite sides of the casing and engaging with catches formed by upward extensions a of the two frame members a. The forward end of this latch has a'lifting-arm k, on which a friction-roller It is mounted, and the latch is normally held in engagement with the said catches, as shown, by a spring R, attached to the latch and engaging ina notch b in the casing. The trolley-cord '1) passes under and engages with this friction-roller, and then passes through an opening in the casing to the inclos'ed reel, to which it is attached.

.Secu'red to the side 01 of the reel are a plurality ofstrike-pins 61 which are parallel with its axis and are arranged systematically around the same, and on each of these pins is a friction-roller d". On the said side (Z near its periphery, is a series of ratchets d with which a pawl M is adapted to engage This pawl is pivoted to the inside of the casing B above its center when the casing is in its normal position, as shown, and this pawl tends to fall by gravity against an adjustably-fixed stop N, secured to said casing. Said stop N is pivoted to the casing, in which is a concentric arch-shaped slot, and through thisslot passes a screw, which may be screwed into the stop This pawl is provided with a strike projection M, which lies in the path of the rollers d as the reel turns. When the reel turns slowly, as it will so long as the trolley remains in contact with the conductor-wire, these pins lift the pawl slightly and pass under it; but when the trolley jumps from the wire and is'pulled up suddenly by its spring the reel is caused to rotate rapidly. In that event these pins on the'reel hit the strike projection M and throw this pawl violently outward, bringing its end into the path of the ratchets d on said reel, said outward movement beinglimited by the engagement of the end of the pawl with the flange 11 One of these ratchetsd engages with this pawl, and thereby locksthe-reel and easing together, so as to prevent'their independent rotation. As soon as'thisresult takes place. the pull of the trolley upon the trolley cord p causes said cord to lift thela'tch K, and thereby unlock the casingB fromthe frame A. Immediately thereafter the spring J of the retractor-arm G swings said arm rearward. The casing necessarily turns with it until the parts assume thevposition substantially as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, at which time the trolley has been pulled down until it is a considerable distance below the planes of the conductor-wire or of its sup; porting'arms or cross-wires. The movement of the latch, induced by the pull of the trolley-cord, is limited by a finger b attached to the casing. (Shown in Fig. 2.) To replace the trolley upon the conductor wire, the attendant draws the trolley down still further by pulling upon its cord. He then turns the casing B and the retractor-arm E back to the positions shown in Fig. 2 and latches the easing to the frame. A slight backward movement of. the reel relative to the casing' releases the pawl M from the ratchet d whereby it may fall by gravity back against the stop N, in contact with which it normally lies, and the parts are then in position to resume the operations described after the trolley has v been caused to engage with the conductorwire.

Attention is here called to the eccentric position of the axis of the retract-or-arm, being, as shown, below and behind the axis of the casing. It is clear that as the retractor-arm is turned by itsspring said spring loses its power, because it is unwinding and it also is obvious that as the trolley is pulled down the force of its spring is increasing, because it is being put under greater tension. In order, therefore, that it shall be unnecessary-to provide a spring for operating the retractorarm strong enough when partly unwound to move the trolley when the tension of its spring has been increased, the axis of said retractor-arm is placed as stated. As the casing is turned backward the yoke upon the retractor-arm moves out upon the arm b away from its center of rotation, and thereby increases the leverage of said retractor-arm upon the casing more than enough to coinpensate for the decrease in force of the retractor-spring andthe increase in the force of the trolley-spring.

I claim 1. In a trolley-retractor, the combination of a'frame, a member rotatively mounted thereon, mechanism exerting a force to turn said member in one direction, a latch which connects said member with"said frame and prevents said turning, a reel rotatively mounted on said member, a spring acting to turn said reel, the trolley-rope wound upon said reel and passing beneath said latch, ratchet-stops secured to said reel, a plurality of striker-pins also secured to said reel, and a pawl mounted on said rotatable member and having a part which lies in the path of said pins, substantially as and for the purism adapted to be operated by the rapid movement of the reel for locking it to the rotatable member, a spring-actuated retractorarm pivoted below the axis of said rotatable member and having a sliding engagement with said guide-arm, and a latch adapted to hold said rotatable member against the pull of said retractor-ar-m, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a trolley-retractor, the combination of aframe, a casin g rotatively mounted thereon and having a normally upwardly projecting arm on the end of which is a loop through which the trolley-rope passes, a reel concentrically mounted within said casing v and adapted to wind up the trolley-rope, a spring tending to turn said reel, a series of ratchetteeth, and a series of striker-pins secured to said reel, a pawl pivoted to'the casing and lying between said-pins and ratchets and projecting into the path of the former, mechanism exerting a force tending to turn said cas ing on its axis and a latch with which the trolley-rope engages for latching the casing to the frame against the force of said mech anism.

4. In a trolley-retractor, the combination of a spring-actuated rotatable reel, a series of striker-pins and a series of ratchet-s secured thereto, a pawlpivoted to an independent support and projecting into the path of said striker-pin, and a fixed stop with which said pawl normally contacts, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. In a trolley-retractor, the combination of a spring-actuated rotatable reel, a series of striker-pins and a series of ratchets secured thereto, a pawl pivoted to an independent support and projecting into the path of said striker-pin, and an adjustable 'stop with which said pawl normally contacts, substantially as and'for the purpose specified.

6. In a trolley-retractor, the combination of a spring-actuated rotatable casing, an inclosed spring-actuated concentrically-mounted rotatable reel, mechanism operated by the sudden movement of said reel for locking the reel and easing together, and alatch-bar pivoted to the casing and adaptedto engage with an immovable catch and having a lifting-arm under which the trolley-rope passes from the reel to the trolley whereby abnormal strains upon the trolley-rope will raise said latch-bar,

rope may be attached, a guide-arm secured to said member having an eye through which the trolley-rope will pass; a latch pivoted to said member and engaging with a fixed catch and having a lifting-arm under which the trolley rope will pass, a pivoted retractor-arm, a concentrically-mounted rotatable ratchet, a pawl preventing the backward movement of said ratchet, and a coiled spring secured at one end to said retractor-arm and at the other end to said ratchet, said retractor-arm having at its outer end a yoke through which said guidearm loosely passes, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

9. In a trolley-retraetor, the combination of a frame having two rearwardly-extended members, a casing having outwardly-projecting hubs which are rotatably mounted in said members, a shaft rotatably mounted in said hubs of the casing, a reel rotatably mounted upon said shaft, a helical spring secured at one end to said shaft and at the other end to said reel, means for turning said shaft independently of the casing, a device forlocking said shaft and casing together, a spring, and

intermediate mechanism whereby the spring exerts its force to turn said casing, a latch preventing the movement of said casing, which latch has a lifting-arm in the path of the rope passing from the trolley pole to said reel, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW J. JOHNSON.

Witnesses.

E. B. GILCHRIST, E. L. THURSTONL 

